A Starkit is a single file packaging of Tcl scripts, platform specific compiled code and application data; designed to facilitate simple deployment of cross platform applications. The name comes from STandAlone Runtime.
Starkits are interpreted using TclKit - a single file Tcl/Tk interpreter. You will need a version of TclKit for each platform that you want to run a Starkit on. Have a look at the TclKit download area where there are versions for over a dozen platforms.
A Starpack is a single (platform specific) executable file containing both TclKit and a Starkit. They are useful when you want to deploy a single executable for an application. Starpacks can be built on any platform supporting TclKit, for any platform supporting TclKit.
The Starkit home page is http://www.equi4.com/starkit/
The best reference for starkits, starpacks, and tclkits is the paper Steve Landers presented at the Tcl/Tk 2002 conference in Vancouver - on his site at [L1 ].
In case you're wondering
See http://www.equi4.com/mailman/listinfo/starkit for information concerning a mailing list specifically to discuss tclkit/starkit/starpack ideas, development, use.
When storing Starkits on a MacOS machine, to what are people generally setting the type and creator values?
Try type "TEXT" and creator "Tkd4" (sdx sets them that way too) -jcw
Check out my hints on Sexy Starkits --Ro
But what is a Starkit? Quoting Scripted Documents Are Obscure: what we have here is simply a Tcl version of Java ".jar" files, with the runtime environment optionally bound in.
In other words: a way of distributing a Tcl/Tk app as a single file, instead of as a bunch of files. And, the user doesn't have to unpack it before it can be used. (But is it still convenient for users to study/edit?
When quoting from that page, it'd have been nice if the above anonymous poster had also included my reply on why starkits are more than "simply jar files" -jcw